Three players that need to play big role for India apart from Sunil Chhetri

Bengaluru, September 5: India has improved by leaps and bounds in football over the last decade or so but Indian Football team still has a long way to go to get a name for themselves in the most globally admired game.

Igor Stimac, a former manager of the Croatia national team, was brought in to carry on the progress India has witnessed in recent years and the next big hurdle for the country is the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers which starts on Thursday (September 5) with India hosting Oman in Guwahati.

A member of the Croatian team that reached the semifinals of the World Cup in 1998, Stimac is the most high-profile name to manage India but the start has been far from impressive. A third-place finish in the King's Cup in Thailand was followed by a poor showing in the Intercontinental Cup but it is all part of the experiemnt which is needed for progress and the real test starts now with no margin for error.

Sunil Chhetri, India's flag-bearer for more than a decade has carried the nation on his shoulders and it is time for the new generation to help him in order to take the country to the next level. In this article, we will discuss about three players who will have a big role to play in India's progress in the future.

1. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu

The 27-year-old has made India very very proud during his career. He has not only played in Europe, but also became the first ever Indian player in play in the Europa League when he played for Stabaek in Norway. Now a Bengaluru FC player, Sandhu will have to play a decisive role under the bar in order to help India progress in the next few years. He is a truly a superstar and with him at the last line of defence, the confidence should be high and he needs to assure that.

2. Udanta Singh

Udanta Singh is the golden boy of Indian football. India has rarely seen a player as talented as the 23-year-old from Manipur who graduated from the Tata Football Academy. Udanta has been a regular for India on the right flank in recent time but he needs to add more goals to his game. In 22 games for India, he has found the back of the net just once which is not impressive for a player of his quality. With pace to burn and gifted technical abilities, Stimac needs to unleash him and help him grow as a player for the sake of Indian football.

3. Sandesh Jhingan

Every great team needs a solid leader at the back and fortunately for India, Sandesh Jhingan is exactly that kind of a player. The Chandigarh-born towering defender has everything a defender dreams of and he will certainly get better under the stewardship of Stimac who himself was a top class defender to have appeared in the World Cup semi final. Jhingan is touted as the next captain of India and will need to take more responsibility in order to help India grow into a bigger side in world football.